Climate Law Blog

Each month, Arnold & Porter and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law collect and summarize developments in climate-related litigation, which we also add to our U.S. and non-U.S. climate litigation charts.  If you know of any cases we have missed, please email us at columbiaclimate at gmail dot com. Here are the additions to the Climate Case Chart since Update […]

Jessica Anne Wentz Associate Director and Postdoctoral Fellow In the early morning of February 28, 2010, storm Xynthia hit the French Atlantic coast, overwhelming coastal defenses and flooding over 50,000 hectares of land. The storm caused over one billion euros of damage and 47 fatalities in the Vendée Department of France.[1] Over half of these […]

Each month, Arnold & Porter and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law collect and summarize developments in climate-related litigation, which we also add to our U.S. and non-U.S. climate litigation charts.  If you know of any cases we have missed, please email us at columbiaclimate at gmail dot com. Here are the additions to the Climate Case Chart since Update […]

Each month, Arnold & Porter and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law collect and summarize developments in climate-related litigation, which we also add to our U.S. and non-U.S. climate litigation charts.  If you know of any cases we have missed, please email us at columbiaclimate at gmail dot com.    Additions to the U.S. Climate Case Chart since Update […]

Each month, Arnold & Porter and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law collect and summarize developments in climate-related litigation, which we also add to our U.S. and non-U.S. climate litigation charts. The additions to the charts from August to December 2014 are included below, organized by their case chart category.  U.S. Climate Litigation Chart […]

Italian Scientists’ Convictions for Not Predicting Earthquake Reversed In the early hours of April 6, 2009, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck central Italy, with the epicenter near the medieval city of L’Aquila.  The 20-second earthquake left over 300 people dead, over 1,500 injured, and over 65,000 homeless in L’Aquila and 45 surrounding towns. [1] [2] In a […]

By Brian Park, Summer Legal Intern On June 11th, 2014, the Oregon Court of Appeals in Chernaik v. Kitzhaber reversed an Oregon trial court’s dismissal of a climate change challenge mounted under the public trust doctrine. The Court of Appeals ruled that the trial court was required to reach the merits of plaintiffs’ contentions that atmospheric […]

Update #64 July 2014 Each month, Arnold & Porter and the Center for Climate Change Law collect and summarize developments in climate-related litigation, which we also add to our U.S. and non-US climate litigation charts. The July additions are listed below. (If you know of any cases we’ve missed, please email us at columbiaclimate at gmail dot com.) FEATURED DECISION […]

By Ellii Cho, Summer Legal Intern The National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 (NEPA) requires federal agencies to prepare environmental impact statements (EISs) for all “major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.”[1] This includes the issuance of federal permits. Even after an EIS is completed and a proposed project has been […]

By Hunter Book, Summer Legal Intern On June 3, 2013, a group of lawsuits that generated significant interest among environmental lawyers were abruptly withdrawn.[1]  The cases notably alleged a novel theory of liability and duty of care regarding climate change projections.  In Illinois Farmers Insurance Co. v. Metro Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago[2](and related cases […]